A former royal bodyguard has urged Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to keep a low profile after the couple’s return to the UK.
Simon Morgan, 47, who spent years as a Met Police bodyguard to the British royal family, said on Thursday that the threat level facing the monarchy is dangerously high. “The threat to the UK and its assets, of which the Royal Family is one, is currently severe,” he said in an exclusive interview.
Morgan founded Trojan Consultancy after leaving the force and now advises high-profile clients on personal security. He stressed that visibility carries real consequences for the Sussexes. “Being discreet and unobtrusive is really important — you don’t want to unsettle the environment, as that causes problems,” he said.
The warning comes as Harry, 40, and Markle, 43, have relocated from their $14 million Montecito mansion back to England at the end of August, six years after quitting as working royals and moving to California in 2020. King Charles III has made clear the couple will remain private citizens, a status that leaves them without taxpayer-funded police protection.
Morgan identified two distinct categories of risk facing Harry. First, what he termed “actual risks” rooted in the prince’s military service. Harry served two operational tours and publicly discussed killing Taliban fighters in his memoir, “Spare.” Morgan noted that this history could expose him to “genuine security threats” from hostile actors.
Second, Morgan pointed to “perceived risks” that attach to any public figure with substantial wealth. These encompass threats to family safety, financial assets and social standing. “Therefore, they seek to reduce and mitigate the risks by using security [and] professionals whose job it is to deal with these threats,” he continued.
The couple’s polarizing public image compounds these challenges, Morgan assessed. “If we look at the Sussexes’ visibility over recent years, they have alienated large sections of the public [and] everyone has an opinion,” he said. “Most are negative, some positive and some don’t care.” However, Morgan clarified that negative sentiment alone does not constitute a credible physical threat — distinguishing between hostility and actual danger requires professional intelligence assessment.
Morgan emphasized that effective protection demands constant adaptation. “That plan needs to be evaluated and it needs to evolve according to changes, intelligence, environmental, media, principals, global events. You can’t just create a plan and stick with it no matter what,” he said. The most successful security teams, he added, are those “that can adapt when things change.”
The former bodyguard specifically praised the Sussexes’ decision to pull their children from a new private school after just two days this week. Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, had barely begun classes when their parents acted on security concerns. “Ultimately, the Sussexes’ team has done that by changing schools. It wasn’t working, the risks were too great, they couldn’t be mitigated, so a change was needed,” Morgan said.
Yet Markle encountered a fresh security breach when her personal phone number was reportedly leaked after she joined a WhatsApp group for parents at the children’s new school. Morgan called this a serious operational failure. “Given who the Duchess is, her personal number should not have been given out, as that is now compromised and could lead to all sorts of problems based on intelligence leakage around that number,” he said. “A third-party option should have been considered.”
Despite these obstacles, Morgan believes the couple can achieve privacy with proper planning. “Many people do it, but there are risks associated with A-listers … And you have to identify the risks and create a security plan accordingly,” he urged. “That ultimately takes time and money in reality.”
The financial burden falls entirely on the couple. “The higher the profile, the more factors to consider, the more resources that are needed and ultimately the greater financial resources and commitment that is needed,” Morgan added.
Harry has been waging a legal battle for restored police protection in the UK, arguing that his security situation warrants state support. His father has not intervened to grant this status.
On Thursday, Harry made his first official appearance since relocating, attending the Invictus Spirit Gala Dinner & Awards at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London. The event celebrated competitors from his adaptive sports competition for wounded service members.
Morgan’s assessment underscores the delicate balance the Sussexes must now strike: maintaining public engagement while minimizing exposure in a threat environment he characterized as unforgiving.